Court seeks Jamia Millia reply on students’ union poll ban

The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought Jamia Millia Islamia’s response by March 18 on a petition for quashing a 2006 decision of the central university to ban elections to the students’ union.

The division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Rajiv Shakdher sought the university’s response while hearing a petition by Hamidur Rahman, a final year under-graduate student. He alleged that it was unreasonable on the part of the university to ban the elections to the union since March 2006. “Union elections are no more being held, there is nobody in the campus to address the students’ grievances and problems and that is why they are being harassed and tortured frequently,” Rahman said. He said that the university authorities had continued to collect a union fee of Rs.50 from each student despite there being no elections in the last few years. “It is in violation of the constitution,” he said.

He said that the polls had not been held since March 31, 2006 despite several representations and requests by students. Sitab Ali Chaudhary, counsel for the petitioner, said the vice chancellor gave an assurance but the elections were not conducted. Claiming that the university was charging the students’ union fee without any intention of holding the elections, Khan said: “Jamia has 13,810 students and the university has been charging Rs.50 per student as union fee.”

The university March 2006 dissolved the students’ union without giving any reason, the petition said. The petitioner alleged that despite the central government and the University Grants Commission asking Jamia to conduct the student union elections, no action had been taken.

“Then union president Sams Parvez was beaten up mercilessly by then proctor and his security men and other anti-social elements when he was peacefully asking the reasons to dissolve the duly elected students’ union,” alleged the petitioner.

Earlier, former students of the university withdrew their petition on the same issue after the court said that they were no more studying in the university.